278 
THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 
said, trees should be placed around the border of the 
grounds, and inside tliem should come the shrubbery. 
Care should be taken not to make the shrubbery too 
close to the trees. Beds ought to be made for the 
shrubs, and around them should be placed the flower- 
ing plants. Among the shrubs which are most suit- 
able for a small place are the following: Privets, not 
the ordinary, but the Japanese varieties ; forsythia ; 
bush honeysuckles ; mock oranges ; snowballs, and 
some of the small species of dogwood. 
Success in keeping a country place looking well lies 
in the attention and care bestowed upon it. A great 
deal of time need not be devoted to a garden of mod- 
erate proportions, but it must receive the right kind 
of care. An hour and a half six times every week 
should be suf¥icient for a place of the size mentioned 
at the beginning of this article — five acres. If pos- 
sible, a small hot-house should be erected in some out- 
of-the-way part of the grounds for the purpose of 
starting such jjlants as pansies and other flowers that 
need not be raised from seeds. Such a hot-house can 
be small and cjuite inexpensive. 
Most people like to grow a few vegetables, and a 
hot-house is a decided advantage in starting many 
vegetables. 
In Great Britain, France and Germany almost all 
people have an innate love of plants and gardening, 
without which it is impossible to obtain very good re- 
sults, for if attending to one's garden is not a pleasure, 
it becomes a task. Any one who contemplates hav- 
ing a garden, or cultivating a few acres of ground 
around his home should first make sure that his desire 
is not merely a passing fancy, but is a true wish pro- 
duced by a love for nature's vegetable world, the word 
"vegetable" being used in its widest sense. Further, 
it is well to remember that no matter what you want 
while — on this planet, you cannot get anything worth 
having for n<jthing, and a garden is no exception to 
this rule. 
One of the most important features to be consid- 
ered, whether one's property is five acres or ten acres 
or more in extent, is the lawn. A very good lawn is 
uncommon, chiefly because most people think that 
when once they have laid out the place where the 
grass ought to grow, and have either seeded or sodded 
it, nothing else is required except to use a lawn mower. 
A fine lawn with even turf is rare, because it requires 
keeping free of weeds, as well as continual watering 
at certain times of the year. In some parts of Cali- 
fornia where rain seldom falls and grass ordinarily 
never grows, one can see some of the finest lawns in 
the country, simply because the owners are obliged 
to give a great deal of attention to them to have them 
at all. 
In a small garden, the flowering plants should be 
in beds, in borders and in clusters around the shrubs, 
so that both can be watered, weeded and taken care 
of together. Concerning flowers, the most desirable 
are the hardy ones which come up year after year and 
do not require a great amount of attention. Autumn 
is the season for planting daft'odils, hyacinths, snow- 
drops, crocuses, squills and iris, all of which make a good 
display during the spring. Narcissus is available 
also with its many shades of yellow and gold. 
As to iris, from the ordinary yellow flag to the most 
tempting new purple variety, tenderly streaked and 
perfumed, it is a most desirable acquisition. Sword- 
like leaves and dainty but flaunting blossoms with 
their many associations all are ready to yield us pleas- 
ure. Among flowering plants that blossom very satis- 
factorily are snowdrop, crocus, foxglove, poppy, 
single dahlia, and many others which may be found 
in any book on gardening. Chrysanthemums should not 
be forgotten, but hydrangeas are too large and stiff 
for a small garden. Too many flowers are undesir- 
able ; better results are obtained by having less and 
giving ample attention to those which are being cul- 
tivated. Of course, we cannot do without a suitable 
number of white flowers, and the lily of the valley will 
grow almost anywhere. It is, nevertheless, a fanciful 
jjlant, apt to dwindle and vanish even when carefully 
tended, and to flourish and increase like a weed when 
circumstances suit it. 
Flowers that are bright in color are most desirable 
in every garden. For yellow there are sunflowers, 
and Canary creeper. The last-named can be used in 
boxes, and in baskets ; it can be trained to form 
arches ; it will do equally in bed or border. For violet, 
that valuable shrub the lilac, and at the opposite end 
of the scale, the periwinkle, which is an excellent cover 
under trees, will dangle from a hanging basket, or 
scramble over stones — with equal content in each po- 
sition. The \'ariegated variety has pretty leaves, but 
the green kind is somewhat hardier. Blue flowers are 
always a little uncommon, but lobelias and forget-me- 
nots can always be trusted to please. Of red flowers 
there is no scarcity, especially if we take that color 
to include every shade from pink to deep crimson. 
The best show can be made by using geraniums. 
They usually last well through an entire season. The 
fuchsia is, indeed, a pretty plant which ])refers a cer- 
tain amount of shade. Marguerites are invaluable. 
They need not be treated to extra wealth of soil and 
sun, but look best when planted somewhat far back 
in the landscape with a foreground of bushes. These 
pretty daisies form dense heads of leaves and flowers, 
but the stems below are not so pretty. A large bunch 
of wallflowers will conceal defects. 
ESSENTIALS IN CYCLAMEN CULTURE 
{ Coitiiincd from pai:,c 271. j 
all over again, and the best of growers have to do 
this occasionally. The old rule of prevention being 
better than cure holds doubly good in this case. By 
changing or washing the gravel on the benches every 
time the plants are repotted and frequent sprayings 
of strong insecticide, will keep the mite away, but 
these operations must be done regularly and persist- 
entl}-. 
Any well balanced fertilizer will be beneficial to 
Cyclamen after the pots become fairly well filled with 
roots, if given in moderate doses, and a few applica- 
tions of soot water as the buds appear will intensify 
the colors. 
Grow Cyclamen as cool as possible, of course, when 
the tenqierature is high outdoors, but beware of sud- 
den changes, especiall}- in the Autumn when the tem- 
perature drops to the freezing point. A bracing tem- 
])erature of 45 deg. in the morning that will stiffen 
up the foliage of cinerarias, calceolarias and primulas, 
is not exactly what cyclamen cares for. During the 
month of October the night temperature should not 
go below 56 deg. November from 52; to 55 deg. and 
flower them at not lower than 50 deg. By keeping 
ventilation on the house day and night as the plants 
apprcjach their best period of flowering gives a fuller 
crop of flowers at one time. 
If I have wearied you by reciting what most garden- 
ers would term ordinary cultural details, I have done 
so with the purpose of emphasizing that it is the con- 
tinuous attention to the small details that makes for 
success in growing these plants, for once you neglect 
a Cyclamen it will rarel}- ever forgive you. 
